NewsBites for Kids_First Edition

Hi there,
This is the first edition of a newsletter from the News for Kids site. It has news about children all over the world: from Australia to America- not forgetting Asia and Europe in between! The news items are from different sources which you will see at the end of each news item.
And now: a question for you:
Do you ever have to tell news at school? Which is your favorite source of news?
Enjoy your world!

News for Kids Editorial Team
http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/newsforkids/index.html
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HARRY POTTER
The hotly anticipated London
premiere of Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets will be webcast live on
Sunday. While the picture's young star Daniel Radcliffe rubs shoulders at
the Odeon Leicester Square with co-stars Kenneth Branagh and Robbie
Coltrane, fans will be able to watch the fun from 2.30pm at
www.HarryPotter.co.uk. The second instalment of the Harry Potter series
opens to the public on November 15.
http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Exclusive/0,4029,824159,00.htmlhttp://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Exclusive/0,4029,824159,00.html
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Youngsters get lessons in whodunnit
Nov 2 2002 By The Evening Chronicle
Pupils are taking part in murder mystery days to help them learn.
Lessons are aimed at children aged seven to 11. Pupils leave the classroom to be faced with the riddle of the body in the waiting room at Beamish Railway Station.
"The young detectives will share their findings and piece together the jig-saw - who has been murdered? Why? And, most importantly, who was the murderer?"
http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100local/page.cfm?objectid=12332281&method=full&siteid=50081
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The Volcano and the Schoolchildren
[The Guardian and Reuters]
On Monday, October 28 2002, Mt. Etna, a volcano in Italy, erupted. Ash and lava spilled out on to the surrounding towns and villages. On Thursday, there were earthquakes as
well.
A primary school in a village on a hill in Moloise was destroyed by the earthquake, and some teachers and students were trapped by the rubble.
Clementina Simone, 45, a primary school teacher told reporters yesterday how she tried to encourage her students during this time.
As the quake struck, "we didn't even have time to stand up", she said.
"The floor opened up and the walls started to crumble in the space of three
seconds."
Ms Simone said she found herself trapped between her desk and chair,
with a child's head wedged against her chest. "My head wasn't completely
covered and I could see this stone hanging over me like a sword of Damocles."
[constant threat]
[http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_damocles.htm]
She said the children remained calm and she encouraged them to seek
shelter under their desks, covering their mouths with their jacket collars.
"I told them to look for chinks of light, because light meant air and
hope," she told reporters.

"My greatest fear was that there were some voices that I hadn't heard
from the beginning," she added. "Now we have nine angels in paradise; we
have lost everything."
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/">http://www.guardian.co.uk/
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India is the richest place on earth: Booker winner
Sify News,New Delhi, Nov 2
Yan Martel is a writer who won this year's Booker Prize for 'Life of
Pi'. The Booker Prize is given in England for the best books written in
English all over the world.
'Life of Pi' is a story about an boy called Pi Patel. He is on a ship
with many animals going from Pondicherry to Canada. But the ship sinks,and
Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, a zebra with a broken
leg, a hyena and an orang-utan.
Yann Martel was born in Spain and now
lives in Montreal, Canada. He was traveling in India and decided to base
the story there because India "has a lot of animals and a lot of
religions." That is what he loves about India.
href="http://headlines.sify.com/1316news4.html?headline=India~is~the~richest~place~on~earth:~Booker~winner">http://headlines.sify.com/1316news4.html?headline=India~is~the~richest~place~on~earth:~Booker~winner~
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Many teachers say 5-day school week has made kids busier
Saturday, November 2, 2002 at 09:29 JST
TOKYO � Eighty-seven percent of teachers feel that things at school have become busier for students since a five-day school week was introduced in April, while 49% say they themselves spend more time in school due to unfinished work, according to a national teachers' union survey released Friday.
In the survey conducted by the All Japan Teachers and Staffs Union (Zenkyo), Zenkyo says a sense of being busy and weariness has spread among both teachers and students with the introduction of the new system, due to overloaded schedules. (Kyodo News)

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&id=236961

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School Teaching in Chinese Is a Lure for Black Children
By YILU ZHAO
Paul and Denise Gamble have never been to China, and they were never
particularly interested in its language or culture. Yet their two
school-age children attend Shuang Wen Academy, a public school on the
Lower
East Side in New York where much of the day is spent learning Mandarin.
Their children are part of an unexpected phenomenon at the
four-year-old
school: while most are children of Chinese immigrants, almost 10 percent
of
the students are black, and many of them come from the outer reaches of
the
city, enduring long trips for the chance to attend a school that has
developed a reputation for excellence.
"When I tell my friends that my children are in a bilingual school
learning Mandarin, some are shocked," Ms. Gamble said. "Some think I'm
crazy. Some ask, `Why would you do that?' Well, I just want my children
to
have a good education."
Sometimes, friends would even accuse the parents of betraying their
heritage. Ms. Gamble had a ready answer.

"My children know their heritage," she said. "They know they are
African-Americans of West Indian descent. They are not Chinese, nor are
they pretending to be Chinese.

"Call me a snob. Call me what you want. I just want my children to have
a
good, solid education."

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/02/education/02CHIN.html
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Education In Malaysia-Suffer the children
NOV 3, 2002 By Brendan Pereira MALAYSIA CORRESPONDENT

In the end, Malaysia's ruling coalition ducked on the language issue. Pupils in Chinese-language schools would now bear the burden of learning mathematics and science in both English and Chinese under a compromise formula forged last week. The pressure had been on the schools to choose English as the medium of instruction, but other political considerations prevailed, such as keeping the loyalty of Chinese voters in electoral battles to come.
To achieve this aim, the school week will be extended by four hours and time slots allocated for several subjects will be reduced.Said Mr Kevin Chew, an accountant whose two daughters attend a Chinese-language school: 'It looks like the children have to suffer because politicians don't want to make a decision.'
Still, Mr Zulkifli Alwi, an official with Umno Youth, said he was pleased that the government is closer to reaching its goal of teaching maths and science in English.
In a way, the hard work starts now because we have to convince the parents and teachers, and get everyone pulling in the same direction.'

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/commentary/story/0,4386,152734,00.html?
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A message from Miss America Middle school pupils learn
Saturday, November 02, 2002 By MERRY FIRSCHEIN LODI
Michael DeSomma knows what it's like to be the target of a bully. The seventh-grader at Thomas Jefferson Middle School said he has been called names by classmates, but never told an adult because "I would have felt embarrassed."
But that's in the past, he said Friday. Now, "I would tell," he said. "And if I saw other people being bullied, I would tell, too."
The change of heart came after a rousing appearance by Miss America 2003, Erika Harold, who came to the school in recognition of its "Character Counts" curriculum.
"People deserve respect and they deserve to be treated with dignity," Harold told a cheering, American-flag-waving audience of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders.
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=65&page=5501790
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Fun, frolic and festivities

Adita Danayak
Pune, November 1: As soon as the larger-than-life Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Dino came here, the children shrieked and clamoured to shake hands and be with them. And when Charuhas Pandit sketched Chintu, the popular cartoon character on a large board, with the message, �Grow and look after trees,�it was autographed by chief guest, director Sai Paranjpye. This was at the inauguration of the Pune [India]Children�s Festival 2002, organised by Suvarnajyoti.
Read more on http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=34136
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Nationals seek to put anthem back in schools
Sun, Nov 3 2002 12:50 PM AEDT
The Queensland National Party has passed a resolution requiring children to sing the national anthem each week at school at the party's Central Council Meeting in Mackay.
The motion, to get school children to learn and sing the anthem, also originally called for them to salute the national flag.
However, that was watered down by delegates to acknowledge the flag.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/politics/2002/11/item20021103124745_1.htm
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France and US in battle of Big Mac
By Andrew Johnson 03 November 2002
The American and European arms of the burger giant McDonald's are involved in a row after an admission in a French magazine advert that children should eat in their restaurants only once a week.
McDonald's France placed a full-page advertorial in the magazine Femme Actuelle headlined "McDonald's � is it causing obesity in children?" in response to figures showing child obesity in the country had doubled to 16 per cent in 10 years.
Two independent nutritionists tackled the question. One, Agnes Mignonac, wrote that as long as the child took regular exercise, ate healthilyand wasn't overweight, a once-a-week treat was harmless. For overweight children, she advised a hamburger rather than deep-fried Chicken McNuggets.

But the campaign has provoked a furious response from the corporation's American HQ in Chicago, which issued a statement saying: "This is the opinion of one consultant. We strongly disagree. The vast majority of nutrition professionals say McDonald's food can be and is part of a healthy diet based on the sound nutrition principles of balance, variety and moderation."
It added that Happy Meals are "considered an 'excellent' or 'good' source of more than nine nutrients by the FDA [the Food and Drug Administration, the US regulator]".
A spokeswoman for McDonald's in Britain said: "No one food should be regarded as healthy or unhealthy. It's common sense that physical exercise and balance are important, so it's not possible to recommend a specific number of visits. Parents should take into account the child's overall diet, lifestyle and level of activity."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=348415
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Little hero's `magic' saves brother's life
By NICOLETTE CASELLA 03Nov02

AT four years of age, Preston Bloemendaal knows he is special.
He knows this because his parents told him he has "magic".
But what he doesn't realise is that his magic is bone marrow that has saved his older brother's life.
"He is my little hero. He can be a pain in the butt but I love him a lot," Thomas said.
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5410144%255E2761,00.html
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U.S. Urged to Sign Children's Treaty
November 02, 2002 at 11:15:14 PST By CHERYL WITTENAUER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS- A U.N. official urged the United States to ratify a treaty protecting the rights of children, an act he said would inspire the world "to go the extra step" for its youngest citizens.
Jacob Doek, chairman of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, called on the United States to join with 191 countries that have already signed the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child because "it would really help the world."
The treaty lays down basic rights for all children to food, shelter, education and protection from abuse and exploitation.
The United States is one of only two countries - the other is Somalia - that has not ratified the treaty.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2002/nov/02/110203674.html